National Handloom Day: The dhoti gets a Santhali spin

Stripes of black, orange and red. Tiny black fish swimming in threes. Checkered blues. Imagine all of this on dhotis, the ubiquitous South Indian garment more commonly associated with crisp white fabric, edged in solid colours or gold. 

While it traditionally features in saris woven by the Santhal tribal community, , the Santhali weave now finds a place on the dhoti through Panchaa, an initiative by Ramraj Cotton. This limited-edition launch, features 11 different designs on eight-yard dhotis handwoven in cotton with an off-white base and azo-free dyes. 

This coming-together of weaves is unusual: a garment traditionally from the South, a company that has its roots in Tamil Nadu, and a weave that originates from the forests and far-flung areas of Odisha. For Bindu Vinodhan, founder, Mauna Dhwani foundation who has spent close to a decade working on the revival of the Santhali weave, collaborating with weavers in Mayurbhanj, a project with Chennai-based photographer, author and documentary filmmaker Amar Ramesh set the ball rolling.

The Panchaa line will have 11 different desings in the Santhali weave
| Photo Credit:
Amar Ramesh

At the culmination of this project, Amar approached Ramraj Cotton with two dhotis woven in the Santhali weave. “They were amazed at how beautifully it came together and decided to work with the weavers directly, to reimagine the weave, and bring out a contemporary dhoti,” Amar says. 

“Among the Santhali community, weaving had begun to decline as people migrated in search of other livelihoods. Within two or three generations, the tradition had nearly disappeared. Over the last decade, we worked on reviving the weave, facilitated setting up looms and more. Everything is done here by them from scratch,” says Bindu. 

A model dons a dhoti from the Panchaa line
| Photo Credit:
Amar Ramesh

There are now over 800 weavers, all of whom are women. Bindu says they handle everything from pre-processing, dyeing, and have even begun to grow cotton, something that had stopped when colonisation happened. 

Unique weave

The weave in itself, carries a fascinating history. Bindu recalls how when she initially approached the Santhali community, there was little knowledge about the facets of their traditional weave. 

A weaver from the Santhal community
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“Traditionally, they were buried with their clothes when they died. So we did not have any references to go by, given that the weaves had been largely lost for a few years. Someone then managed to find an old sari which was locked away in a trunk somewhere, and we used that garment for our initial lessons about the weave,” she says. 

On garments such as the sari, the weave appears like embroidery, almost as if an ornate layer has been stitched onto the fabric when the designs are actually, directly woven into the fabric. “An extra-weft technique is used for this weave, which is characterised by a distinctive rib pattern,” says Bindu. “The loom itself requires four pedals instead of the usual two, and the weaving process takes time, and is highly labour-intensive.” 

For the limited edition dhoti drop with Ramraj, 5,000 dhotis are to be made of which nearly 2,000 have been woven over the last three months. While the weavers have so far, largely only worked on Santhali saris which are sold at handloom saree outlets in Odisha or at exhibitions across the country, the dhoti takes their weave to a whole new audience. 

On garments such as the sari, the weave appears like embroidery, almost as if an ornate layer has been stitched on the fabric when the designs are actually, directly woven into the fabric
| Photo Credit:
Amar Ramesh

“This weave is a treasure, and we think it deserves a wider audience without losing its authenticity. Through Panchaa, we have reimagined this traditional weave as a dhoti, and we hope that this initiative encourages greater appreciation for the weave and strengthens the livelihoods of the women weavers,” says KR Nagarajan,founder and chairman, Ramraj Cotton. 

While he says that dhoti purists, who prefer their crisp whites might not immediately gravitate towards this reimagined line, he is sure that the designs will be a hit among youngsters. “They are constantly looking for something new, and we believe these designs will find an audience among them,” he adds. 

With Onam around the corner and the larger festive and wedding season coming up in the next few months, the time is ripe to put a spin on those whites. 

Panchaa is available at www.ramrajcotton.com and in select stores. Priced at Rs 3,999

Published – August 07, 2026 01:53 pm IST